The Shattered
by Chaotic Serenity
Summary: In one blinding moment of utter self-loathing and loneliness, a young man reflects and then makes a sorrowful decision, and time freezes in it's wake. R for theme and content.


The Shattered

_Authors Notes:_I've always had fondness for _Zelda: Ocarina of Time_.Ever since I had first played it, the game had stirred up thousands of ideas for a thousand stories.Sadly, I wrote few of them down, and none of them did I ever publish.This time around, though, I came up with something so out there, so uncharacteristically Zelda-like that I had to write it.Meet Link…the fallen warrior…(It's from Link's POV if you can't figure it out!)

**Warnings:**There's death, angst, perhaps a curse or two, and strong emphasis on the theme of suicide.

**Obligatory Disclaimer:**I own not any of the characters from _Zelda: Ocarina of Time_.Oh, and the poetry at the bottom belongs to me.

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The Shattered

The mighty Sword of Time clatters to the floor, its glowing blade vibrating with a clang as it falls limply from my hand.Its handle is discolored, marred with the very blood whose veins it slit only moments ago: my own.

You would think that I, the Hero of Time, wouldn't come to this, that I would be stronger, happier, without any thoughts of ending my own life. Then again, maybe it isn't you who needs to do some thinking maybe it's me.**I **never thought it would come to this.

I never truly understood destiny, which is ironic since I am a child of it. Why does it have to be so openly cruel to those it bends in its ways?Just the way it chooses and picks among us swells a sense of injustice in me, especially since I just happened to be one of those chosen.

Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to be the Hero of Time.Not once did anyone, even the beloved Deku Tree whom I had spent years praying to, think once to hear my opinion in all this.Not once did anyone think to slow down and perhaps ask if I was okay, needed help, needed a laugh, etc.

No, it was all about the Triforce that damned hunk of golden power that I never even wanted in the first place.I don't care about having unbelievable powers or being the one who could pull the sword from the stone; I just wanted to be me.Now I'm a hero, a star, and a "man of the people."

I laugh bitterly at the title even as I lie in pain, gauntlets gone, tunic soaked red, and wrists slashed open carefully.Killing myself wasn't a spur of the moment thing, you know; I've been dying for a long time.No, let me correct myself.I've been **dead **for many years already.Two lifetimes later, and I've finally found the strength to go my own way.Too bad my way involves a darker way out.

They claim to love me, cherish me, and hold me in their hearts forever.I snort. Yeah, whatever…I'm not an object of love for them; I'm an object of pride, an idol, someone who's name they can post on billboards and banners to show how great they are.

Poor Zelda…she tried so hard to make me happy, but even she slowly faded into disillusion as we began to grow older.She slowly took on the role of the expected princess stereotype, and just as slowly, our friendship faded.I'm not saying she's a bad queen; in fact, she's a fantastic queen.It's just…I've changed…and I can no longer drag her down with me.Besides, she's far too wise for the likes of me, too sophisticated for my rank.All I have left is courage.

_"Oh, and I just couldn't understand why that is,"_ I think bitterly to myself, glancing down at the golden icon engraved in my hand as it begins to glow, signaling that it's power about to heal my wounds.

Damnit!Even in death destiny follows me, trying to pull me back into a web of more pain and despair.Well not this time!This time I will be the one to decide my fate, not a sage, not a Triforce, not even a damned goddess.You hear me!I will prevail this time.

From the angry shunning of the Kokiri to the loss of Malon I-Oh Farore…Malon…Damnit!Don't let me die with those blissfully wonderful memories as the last thing I see…

Suddenly my body feels suddenly colder, suddenly weaker as the memories of sparkling blue eyes, shimmering hair, and sweet kisses come swarming back.Sweet, honest Malon, she was one of the few people who ever truly ever knew me, including the darker shades of me.

But like everything else, destiny took her away from me.Damn those invaders from beyond the southern cliffs!If only I had reached the ranch in time, before they ransacked, burned, and pillaged the farm, and then left her raped and simpering on the floor as the burning barn collapsed around her, the very animals she'd lived for trampling her to death as they rushed to get out.Only Epona stayed…

And now I'm alone, beaten, and fallen.I have become…shattered.I have become one of the fallen, the forgotten whose only memories of life are pale shadow of there once still beating heart.

Shattered by destiny and false love, and beaten beyond belief, I pick up the cold, emotionless blade that started me down this path of self-destruction in the first place and bring it close for scrutiny.The soft temple light gleams of the blade-I thought the Temple of Time would be the most appropriate place to end it-as I begin to stand with the growing strength I gain as the Triforce of Courage continues healing me, conquering me.

I run my hand along the slick blade, wiping off the slowly drying blood so that it's clean for its final cut. The closing curtain has dropped, and the last act has concluded.Gently raising the blade above me, I smile one last time in victory as I close my eyes and allow the sword to finish the job it's fateful companion, destiny, began long ago.

_One final cut destroys a flame whose candle stopped burning years ago, and time stops in an instant to mourn its loss.But don't feel bad for the Hero, for he found his release long ago.Pray for those who's flickering lights are steadily waxing lower, and who are slowly becoming the shattered._

_ _

_"Until the yonder dawning breaks,_

_Beware the subtle faults of destiny,_

_For those who dared to claim and stake,_

_Are shattered in its grieving wake."_

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Yay, nay?I tried, so sue me.Please review, etc, etc.


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